Iran Almost Invaded Afghanistan in 1998
In late 1998 Iran readied its armed forces for an invasion of Afghanistan. Last-ditch diplomacy defused tensions and prevented a potentially destructive conflict. On Aug. 8, 1998, the Taliban, which then ruled around 90 percent of Afghanistan, seized the... Read more
In 1961, India Finally Kicked Portugal off the Subcontinent
At dawn on Dec. 18, 1961, squadrons of Indian Air Force bombers crossed a... Read more
The Grim Rationale for U.S. Air Force ‘Elephant Walks’
On Nov. 19, 2018, two U.S. Air Force wings in Utah launched 35 F-35... Read more
Invading Iran
Nov. 4, 1979, marked a turning point in the relationship between the United States... Read more
Russia Weaponizes Its Coast Guard
The recent standoff between Ukraine and Russia in the Kerch Strait and Sea of... Read more
The two surveillance planes the U.S. Air Force uses to monitor Russian forces under the auspices of a 1992...
The French Military Recruited Colonial Sex Workers
The French army procured prostitutes for its troops in the field throughout the 20th century. And it was hardly...
Yemen Is Dying. We’re Killing It
The U.S. Senate’s Dec. 12, 2018 vote to compel the Pentagon to end its support for Saudi Arabia’s war...
War With Russia Could Look a Lot Like War With the Soviets Did
A non-nuclear war between NATO and Russia could pit bombers, aircraft carriers and submarines against each other along Europe’s...
Jimmy Carter’s Options in Iran Were All Bad
The passing of former U.S. president George H.W. Bush in December 2018 left Jimmy Carter as the oldest living...
Don’t Fear the Military Technothriller
An award-winning short story by a top U.S. Navy intelligence officer serves as a thinly-veiled warning. The Navy, and...
Can Russia’s Pantsir Air-Defense System Handle Drone Swarms?
In November 2018, Viktor Murakhovsky, a writer for the Russian publication Arsenal of the Fatherland, posted a comment regarding...
Japan Triples Its F-35 Order
Japan has decided to buy a lot more F-35 stealth fighters. Officials from Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and...
In a Message to Russia, Ukraine Invites U.S. Air Force Overflight
The U.S. Air Force deployed a surveillance plane to Ukraine on an “extraordinary” mission apparently to inspect Russian forces,...
This 1964 Swiss Army Propaganda Film Got an Oscar Nod
Dutch director John Fernhout’s short film Wehrhafte Schweiz — that’s Fortified Switzerland in English — is a magnificent depiction...
A Mach-10 Missile Won’t Save Russia’s Stealth Fighter
The Russian air force will arm its Su-57 stealth fighters with a hypersonic missile, state media reported on Dec....
The Blacker Bombard Spigot Mortar Was ‘Fearsome’
In the early years of World War II with a German invasion seemingly imminent, the British army scrambled to...
In 1998, Turkey and Syria Narrowly Avoided War
Sick and tired of Syria sheltering its arch-enemy the Kurdistan Workers Party, more commonly known by its acronym PKK,...
Japanese Navy Could Acquire Aircraft Carriers
The Japanese government announced on Nov. 27, 2018 that it plans to modify its two Izumo-class helicopter carriers to...
U.S. Air Force Vice Chief: America Needs More Bombers
The U.S. Air Force needs more bombers and tankers, Gen. Stephen Wilson, the service’s vice chief of staff, told...
